Fossil fuels are used to meet many energy needs. For example, coal is used to generate electricity in many regions. The combustion of fossils fuels, such as coal, produces flue gases that are laden with particulates (e.g., soot) and various other materials. For example, the combustion of certain grades of coal can produce flue gases containing appreciable amounts of elemental mercury. If this elemental mercury is released to the environment, it can pose a significant health risk for those living and working in the vicinity of the combustion source (e.g., coal-fired power plant). Due to the hazards posed by the release of untreated flue gases to the environment, regulations have been passed that require these flue gases to be treated in order to remove certain combustion by-products. For example, recently-enacted regulations place a limit on the amount of mercury that can be present in flue gases released to the environment. In order to meet these limits, the flue gases produced by the combustion of many grades of coal must be treated to remove mercury from the flue gas stream.
Filters of various configurations are commonly used to remove particulates from flue gas streams. These filters are effective at removing such particulates, but they are ineffective in removing significant amounts of harmful chemical compounds and elements, such as elemental mercury, from the flue gas stream. Therefore, it would be very beneficial to provide filtration media that can remove both particulates and harmful chemical compounds and elements from a fluid stream. This application seeks to provide such filtration media, filters made from such media, and processes for filtering fluid streams using such media.